Ridge Archilles
Ridge Archilles (16 BBY— ) is a Major in the New Republic Navy, previously the Wing Commander of [[NRSD Crusader|NRSD Crusader]] and now the [[NRSD Reprisal|NRSD Reprisal]]. He is also the CO of Falcon Squadron, RepMil StarOps' squadron of A-Wing pilots. Biography Early Life (16 BBY –9 BBY) Ridge Archilles was born on Tralus, second of four children to John and Andrea Archilles. His father, a mechanic and pilot, struggled to make ends meet while his mother stayed home to care for the steadily growing number of children. Archilles' sister Megan, the edlest of the four children, was born 19 BBY, followed by Ridge and twin Lily in 16 BBY, and finally Thomas in 13 BBY. Tragically, Andrea died only a day after giving birth to Thomas. Official reports state an allergic reaction to pain medication. After the death of Andrea, John Archilles was hard pressed to both work and take care of the four young children. High stress and refusal to accept help led to heavy alcohol consumption and early maturation in the Archilles children. Even an an extremely young age, Ridge was heavily exposed to spacecraft. As part of John's method of taking care of the children, Ridge and his siblings were often brought to work with their father. The majority of this time was spent flying between planets in the Corellian system in John's starship, Liberty's Breeze, and Ridge spent all the time he could in his father's lap, learning at a young age the basics of flight control. This lasted for four years until, when Ridge was seven, the Liberty's Breeze was attacked by a pirate ship. Before long, the ship took massive damage, and Ridge, the only other life form on board besides his father, was told to tkae a lifepod to the nearest planet. Ridge hid near the pod and watched as the pirates boarded and killed John. Through a tear-streaked face, Ridge climbed into the pod and escaped, though barely. Before a week had passed, he had found his siblings and told them the horrible news. They were soon taken into a local orphanage on Tralus to be raised there. Teen Years (9 BBY –4 ABY) After several years at the orphanage, Ridge's reputation as a free spirit and trouble maker became well known through the administrators and other children. He frequently left the orphanage in the nights, transporting himself to underground swoop tracks where he quickly made a name for himself. Highly skilled and amazingly lucky, Archilles beat many opponents who all logic and reason said he should lose - which more than once would have included a fiery ball of man and machine falling through a neverending chasm. It was on these circuits where Ridge met Corellian Moralis Rodriga. The two formed a racing kinship that quickly formed into a pair of best friends. They became viciously defensive of eachother, and many a fight was fought after swoop races, the grand majority of which ended with the two adolenscents properly beaten into the dust. As years went on, Ridge spent less and less of his time at the orphanage, but more and more in the streets, giving the young man a mental toughness and instincts critical to his future career as a pilot. Ridge continued racing and flying through the remainder of his teen years, mixed in with the occassional illegal operation that comes with being a hoodlum on the streets. Unlike Rodriga, Ridge did not want to fly for either military, unwilling to risk his life for the ideals of others. Eventually, Moralis left for the Republic Military, leaving Ridge on Tralus with a claim to his father's company. Cargo Career (4 ABY–11 ABY) With enough money in winnings from swoop races, Ridge made a deal with a small time ship dealer, purchasing a used YT-1300 to fly the several cargo runs in the Corellian system. Naming the freighter Liberty's Second Wind, Archilles began a career shipping cargo from planet to planet. This period of the man's life was relatively uneventful, besides finding the potential love of his life in Jenna Clearwater, a Corellian native. Jenna (9 ABY —14 ABY) Archilles fell in love with a Corellian barmaid he met by chance on one of his frequent visits to pick up crates of Corellian spirits for shipment. The two soon hit it off, and the woman moved in with Ridge on Tralus within six months of their meeting. The two were engaged to be married when Ridge finally ended his job as a cargo pilot, joining New Republic Military StarOps to keep an eye on his childhood friend, Moralis, who had just lost a wingmate very close to him. Contact ceased between Archilles and Clearwater, until he heard rumor of her after his fighter was disabled over Chandrila. Helping lead the local insurgency, Ridge found her, dead in a prison cell after the insurgency's minor victory over the Empire at a prison compound. Republic Military (14 ABY —) At the age of twenty seven, Archilles entered the Republic Military Starfighter Operations section of the New Republic military. Initially to look out for Rodriga, who recently lost a valued squadron mate, Ridge's involvement in the military quickly evolved into something more. Not ready to admit it at first, but Ridge was beginning to adopt the ideals he had frowned upon years before. Ridge, like so many times in his life, quickly built a reputation as a leader in combat and a great pilot. He quickly adapted to the controls of the New Republic A-wing, and often compared flying the nimble craft to swoop racing. Taking down a great number of Imperial TIEs, Ridge's kill record is astonishing. For all the damage done to the ranks of Imperial pilots, he has only been shot down once, and was forced into an emergency landing on Chandrila. Here, still a lowly combat officer, Ridge was recognized for his skills as a leader and helped lead the Chandrilan insurgency after the Empire took control of the Chandrilan system. After several months, Ridge left Chandrila to come back to the NRSD Crusader, flagship of the Republic Navy's second fleet. On his return, he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming first Executive Officer of Falcon Squadron, and then, after a brief stint as Commander of Ghost Squadron, took the title he had been wishing for as Commanding Officer of Falcon Squadron. Not long after that he was promoted to Major and Wing Commander of Starfighter Operations aboard the NRSD Crusader. After the destruction of the Crusader in the Second Battle of Etti IV, the Second Fleet's flagship transferred to the NRSD Reprisal, a ''Victory''-class Star Destroyer from Cochran. The crew of the Crusader also transferred to the Reprisal. Ridge is currently serving aboard the Reprisal as Wing Commander. OOC Info Ridge joined the MUSH in September 2004, brought here by Mora to pilot for Falcon Squadron of RepMil StarOps. In February of 2005 Ridge created jack-of-all-trades Kintor. In late 2005, Ridge became StarOps and FleetOps Branch Head, stepping down in early-mid 2006. Archilles, Ridge Archilles, Ridge Archilles, Ridge Archilles, Ridge